Japan Tale Ale

• Alcohol Content (by volume): 5.0%
• Starting Gravity (degree plato): 10.2
• Finishing Gravity (degree plato): 1.5
• Bitterness Units (IBU)10Color (SRM): 1.5

• Water: Soft, Cleanly Flavorful, Local
• Malted Grain: Floor-malted Pilsen, Wheat, Sour
• Un-malted Grain: Japanese Wheat
• Sugar: Japanese Korizato (Rock Candy)
• Hops: Whole Flower Cones – Various Varieties
• Yeast: House Scottish Ale Strain
• Other: Local Ume plum Fruit

The Ume (Japanese Plum) tree and the Uguisu (Japanese Nightingale) bird are emblematic of Japan’s natural beauty. Both are part of the landscape at our lovely brewery gardens in Shuzenji. The green Ume fruit from the Japanese Plum tree constitute the bedrock ingredient in our Japan Tale Ale.

Once upon a time a young man visited a distant land majestic in its natural beauty. The people of this land were long in history, rich in culture and reverential of tradition. It was the prosaic pleasures of life in this land that most captured the young man’s fancy: the simple satisfaction derived from a long soak in a hot bath, or the warm feeling of relaxation produced from imbibing a snifter of sake, or the camaraderie enjoyed when dining and drinking communally in the intimate atmosphere of a neighborhood izakaya pub.

The young man chose to stay in this land because of the joy it gave him. Ultimately, he devoted himself to the world of craftsmanship and endeavored to brew artisanal beers inspired by and dedicated to his beloved adopted home. One day his accumulated experiences merged to form a conception for a beer that told, in its liquid way, the tale of the land. He named it Japan Tale Ale.

Japan Tale Ale is brewed with a host of unique and indigenous Japanese ingredients (soft local water, un-malted wheat, korizato sugar and ume plums). It’s lightly hopped, highly attenuated, pleasantly tart and extremely refreshing.

"The idea for this brew came while enjoying a nice ume sour at a local yakitori pub several years back. Why not craft a beer-version of this wonderfully tart and fruity libation, I thought to myself. Well, here it is – Japan Tale Ale!"